THE CYCLICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN HAPPINESS AND HEALTH
A increasing corpus of scientific studies has shown links between happiness and physical health and general well-being over the past few decades. The developing discipline of “positive psychology,” a subfield of psychology with a slightly different focus than other psychological studies, has contributed significantly to this body of knowledge.
Psychology has traditionally concentrated on comprehending and providing treatments for mental diseases and emotions that contribute to misery, such as anxiety, sadness, fear, and stress. A body of study has been compiled that explains the characteristics and circumstances that contribute to happiness. Positive psychology aims to investigate the advantages and causes of pleasant emotions.
Sponsered4
Today, there is a considerable amount of research that offers strong evidence that positive emotions have a significant impact on physical health, resulting in a higher-quality, healthier, and longer life. What does this mean for health care professionals focused on active aging and senior living? Let’s take a deeper look at the research to find out.
What does ‘happiness’ mean?
Happiness, like many other aspects of mental and emotional health, is primarily a matter of opinion. Nonetheless, it is still feasible to quantify and research the ideas that surround what it is to be content. The majority of happiness research focuses on four main areas of inquiry:
Sponsered4
Personal well-being: The subjective feelings of happiness, satisfaction, and a sense that one’s life is significant and “good” are all examined in research on personal well-being.
Happiness traits: A spirit of hope for the future, enthusiasm, humor, and optimism.
Positive emotions: Feelings that are momentary, experiential, transient, and include happiness, love, joy, enthusiasm, and contentment.
Sponsered4
The physical sensation of being happy: What does it feel like to be happy? How does sensory experience make our life more enjoyable and fulfilling?
Positive Psychology researchers seek to not only offers insight into each of these dimensions but isolate distinct areas of the brain that become active as we experience different moods and emotions. Studies show that there are three primary factors that contribute to a state of “chronic happiness” – a state of being that is more resilient to the normal ups and downs of life: Genetics, circumstances, and efforts.
Although it may be tempting to think that outside circumstances, such as income, are a key impact, research indicates that these elements only contribute around 10% of our enjoyment. A whopping 50% of our happiness is presumably a result of our innate temperament and disposition, leaving a whopping 40% under our direct control. The things we do every day, the thoughts we choose to have about other people and things, the goals we set for ourselves, and the fulfilling hobbies we pick all have an impact on how happy we are.
Sponsered4
What is the connection between all of this and physical health?
Simply put, research indicates that people who are happier have better immune systems, less chronic pain, are less likely to be involved in deadly accidents, and have lower risks of diabetes and heart disease.
Happiness and Heart Disease
Sponsered4
1,500 siblings with a strong family history of heart disease were tracked by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The study discovered that for healthy individuals with a genetic predisposition to the disease, positive well-being, including optimism, happiness, life satisfaction, and vitality, contributed to a roughly 30% reduction in heart disease. Further analysis revealed that people who displayed good well-being attributes were 50% less likely to get a heart attack than those who had the highest risk.
According to a different study that was published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, people who reported higher levels of happiness also had lower resting heart rates and blood pressure than people who felt less happiness.
Happiness and Immune Health
Sponsered4
Many studies have linked happiness to having a robust immune system, which increases one’s chance of healing rapidly from ailments and diseases. According to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study, those with high levels of optimism and low levels of stress and anxiety had a higher immune response to the flu vaccination.
Before exposing participants to cold or flu viruses, Carnegie-Mellon University researchers evaluated the general positivity in people between the ages of 21 and 55. Compared to those who reported feeling nervous, angry, or depressed, those whose mental health might be characterized as primarily joyful, energetic, and tranquil had a considerably lower risk of developing illness.
Happiness and Chronic Pain
Sponsered4
According to research, those who are joyful and generally in a good mood can handle chronic pain better. When you realize that humans may feel pain both emotionally and physically, this makes sense. It is an uniquely sensory phenomenon that elicits fear and worry as emotional reactions. Positivity has been demonstrated to increase our ability to withstand pain when it occurs, increase our pain tolerance, and enable us to maintain a high standard of living despite chronic pain.
Happiness and Longevity
The “nun study” is one of the most well-known studies regarding the relationship between happiness and lifespan. Researchers looked at 60 years’ worth of diaries kept by nuns who started keeping journals in their 20s. In general, people whose diaries showed the most happy emotions outlived the others by an average of 7 to 10 years.
Sponsered4
Researchers found that those who generally felt happy and pleased with their lives were 35% more likely to outlive those who felt dissatisfied and unsatisfied with their lives in a 5-year study of British adults aged 52 to 79.
The Aspects of Wellness’s Cycle of Health and Happiness
Happier people tend to be healthier people, as ongoing study has shown. Also, we are aware that healthy people are more likely to be physically active and socially connected, two aspects that both contribute to their general health and sense of well-being and foster happy feelings. In this way, social interaction, physical activity, and happiness all contribute to an upward spiral.
Sponsered4
Positive emotions motivate people to want to engage in physical exercise and build social ties, which both result in better health and more good feelings. Also, engaging in physical activity can increase feelings of well-being and serve as a platform for social interaction, which promotes improved health and a desire to be more socially and physically active.
The cycle never ends. Those who are usually content with their lives are less likely to smoke, more likely to eat a nutritious diet, and less likely to take unnecessary risks with their physical health, which only adds fuel to the fire.
How therefore can health care professionals help persons of all ages maintain this cycle of enjoyment and health?
Sponsered4
There is no quick fix for happiness, and certain aspects of it are inadvertently beyond our control. However, since lifestyle decisions and variations in mental, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and desires cannot be separated from whole person health, beginning the cycle of happiness and health can occasionally be done by participating in an activity that supports just one level of the Dimensions of Wellness.
It never comes to an end. The likelihood of smoking is lower, the likelihood of eating a healthy diet is higher, and the likelihood of putting unneeded risks against one’s physical health is lower in people who are typically happy with their lives—all of which just add gasoline to the fire.
Hence, how can medical professionals assist people of all ages in maintaining this cycle of pleasure and health?
Sponsered4
Happiness cannot be achieved overnight, and some factors are unavoidably out of our control. The cycle of enjoyment and health can occasionally be started by engaging in an activity that promotes just one level of the Dimensions of Wellness, yet lifestyle choices and variances in mental, emotional, social, and spiritual requirements and wants cannot be isolated from whole person health.
Sponsered4
